Clyde Johnson first saw the Gelbvieh breed of cattle when in the USA with Toowoomba veterinarian and friend Dr Peter McAuliffe, in 1982. He had accompanied Dr McAuliffe to look at embryo transfer procedures at the Colorado State University at Fort Collins. One of the vets working there was an Australian, Dr Cedric Wise, who is now a Gelbvieh breeder, and who now does all our embryo transfer work.

The university team had done an ET program with a small herd of 32 Gelbvieh females which they had then retained at the University. Clyde was impressed with their excellent milking and mothering ability combined with optimum carcase weight. On their return to Australia, Dr McAuliffe located some Gelbvieh semen in Perth, Western Australia for Clyde. This had been imported in 1974 from the Scottish Milk Marketing Board.

The bull chosen from the two in stock was SCOTTISH HERKULES, who proved to be an excellent foundation sire.

Later SCOTTISH HORST, MMB HANS and MMB HOCK were used.

Clyde started with the semen as a trial to breed station milkers, using it over Poll Herefords and English Milking Shorthorns. The priority in grading up was to breed cattle that can handle a harsh environment. He has since progressively used other well known imported sires.

Clyde and his daughters, Julie and Kirrily, developed and registered the Norolle Gelbvieh Stud. They produced Australia’s first purebred, upgrade animals with a flush of four in November 1989, after a long upgrading program.

Norolle Cattle Company made the public aware of Gelbvieh cattle with displays at the local shows. In 1993 as a first time Gelbvieh exhibiter at the Brisbane Exhibition (now the Queensland Royal Show) we showed Junior Champion Female NOROLLE HIGH SOCIETY M600 born 3 February 1992.

Show successes have followed year after year. We are proud of our stock and happy to represent the Gelbvieh breed at shows and field days. Our bulls are in demand and we are still building up female numbers.

The sires used with success in the our herd have included HOMEBUSH POLL NEWMAN chosen by Julie and Kirrily and purchased as a yearling at the Brisbane Exhibition in 1993.

He was used at “Norolle” for a year and then sold on, with Norolle Cattle Company retaining a share for both in-herd use and marketing.

The sires SHERMAN TANK, POLLED HOCKEYE 07T HYEK POLL MASTERMIND and LEACHMAN NEW DAY, have all been used with considerable success. A small amount of semen in JWR BRUTUS was imported for in-herd use.

Kirrily selected REMITALL FIRE POWER 101F, the 1996 & 1998 Canadian National Champion for us. She was impressed with his length, strength and excellent muscle pattern with the ability to fatten.

He is polled and free moving, producing the best line of calves we have ever seen at “Norolle”. We are excited about the future with our Gelbvieh stock.

In 2002 we purchased the Australian marketing rights in JRI Pld PETERBILT 285 H65 ET (USA) from Davidson Gelbvieh, Canada. PETERBILT was bred by Judd Ranch in Kansas USA. He is a proven easy calving sire and will fit well into our breeding program.

Norolle Gelbvieh weaner bulls being wintered on buffel pasture

"It's time to unlock the potential"